Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic in the contingency framework: Antecedents and consequences of public's stance toward the CDC

Hyunmin Lee; Hyo Jung Kim; Hyehyun Hong

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102149

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic in the contingency framework: Antecedents and consequences of public's stance toward the CDC

Public Relat Rev. 2022 Mar;48(1):102149. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102149. Epub 2022 Jan 19.

Authors

Hyunmin Lee¹, Hyo Jung Kim², Hyehyun Hong³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Communication, Drexel University, United States.
² Department of Media & Communication, Pusan National University, South Korea.
³ Department of Advertising & Public Relations, Chung-Ang University, South Korea.

Abstract

This study applied the contingency theory of conflict management to examine how contingency factors influence the public's perceptual and behavioral responses to COVID-19 and stance toward the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In particular, we tested political ideology as an important individual characteristic variable to examine its roles in the contingency theory framework. The findings revealed that two situational variables (i.e., threat appraisal and attitudes toward CDC) positively influenced the public's contingency accommodation stance toward the CDC. Furthermore, greater conservatism was significantly associated with lower levels of threat appraisal and more negative attitudes toward the CDC, however it did not influence the stance toward the CDC. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Contingency theory; Crisis communication; Political ideology; Threat appraisal.